Former V. League coach to lead Thai national football team

The contract between the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) and Polking will last for four months, until the end of AFF Cup. If Thailand achieve a good result at the tournament, a contract extension might be considered.

"AFF Cup is an important tournament, so we chose a coach who knows Thai football well. We believe in Polking’s talent. Hopefully, he will use his experience to help Thailand achieve its goals," said Nualphan Lamsam, general manager of Thailand national football team.

The Football Association of Thailand announces the signing of new Thailand head coach Alexandre Polking.

Polking, 44, is a Brazilian-German coach. He used to be the assistant coach of the Thai national team from 2012-2013. He became the head coach of True Bangkok United from 2014 to 2020, with the club twice finishing second in Thai League.

In 2021, Polking coached HCMC FC with the goal to help the club win the V. League title. However, before the league got canceled due to Covid-19, HCMC had already suffered poor results under his lead. Therefore, both sides decided to part ways.

"Polking meets all the requirements to coach Thailand. Although this is not a long-term plan, the result at AFF Cup would show his abilities - we will continue from there," Lamsam said.

Thailand are in group A of AFF Cup 2021 with the Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore and the winner of the play-off between Brunei and Timor-Leste.

Vietnam, the defending champions, are in group B with Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.

The tournament will take place from Dec. 5, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2022.